Should the “Tea Party” movement organize itself to run congressional candidates across the country, it would poll better than the Republican Party, according to a new survey by Rasmussen Reports.

In the national telephone poll of 1,000 likely voters released Monday, 23 percent said they preferred to vote for a candidate from the yet unformed “Tea Party” for Congress in 2010. The Republican Party trailed the non-existent political organization by 5 percentage points, getting the support of 18 percent of respondents.

Democratic candidates were preferred of 36 percent.

Local tea party organizations have sprung up in states across the country, but there is little national – or even state-level – cohesion among them. Most states have several groups competing for support.

Despite the disorganization, the tea party brand is strong enough that a number of conservative candidates, including Republican California Senate hopeful Chuck DeVore, have tried to adopt the movement’s message.

According to the poll, 41 percent of all respondents said they had a “favorable view” of the so-called “Tea Party,” while only 22 percent characterized their view of the grassroots anti-tax movement as “unfavorable.” Thirty-seven percent said they were unsure.

Seventy percent of Republicans said they had a favorable view.

Fifty-seven percent said they were following news about the new movement either “very” or “somewhat” closely, while 40 percent said they were watching “not very closely” or “not at all.”